Nestled in the middle of a Hutto strip mall, Ricardo’s Tacos & More is not just a business opportunity for Enrique Ricardo Antunano Jr.—it’s a taste of home.

Antunano and his former business partner opened Ricardo’s in 2011 with the vision of offering flavorful breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes reminiscent of his childhood in Mexico.

The engineer-turned-restaurateur said he wanted the restaurant to provide an alternative to Tex-Mex cuisine, which he said is popular in the area and tends to rely more heavily on ingredients such as cheese and sour cream.

“We wanted [our menu items] to be more like what you’d find in Mexico when you go get tacos or food—like you were visiting Mexico,” he said. “Me, my brother, my sister, we miss that.”

Antunano was born in California, grew up in Mexico and worked as an engineer in different states before moving to Texas, he said. In 2005 he opened a Quiznos franchise restaurant in Round Rock and made a career switch to the food industry business to cut back on travel and have more control over his schedule, he said.

“[When I worked as an engineer], every weekend I was somewhere else. I was flying; I was driving; after years I got too tired to continue doing that,” he said. “I decided to do my own business. I was tired of working for someone else.”

Ricardo’s is most known for its breakfast tacos but also offers catering and serves lunch items, including soup, tortas and hamburgers. The ingredients are made fresh daily with an emphasis on spice and flavor, and there is no sour cream in any dish, Antunano said.

“The food is good, authentic flavor of Mexico,” he said. “We can customize and change things easily to accommodate people’s tastes.”

During the next several months, Antunano said he plans to focus on developing Ricardo’s lunch menu and possibly expand to include dinner offerings as well, he said.

Another restaurant could also be on the horizon for Antunano, but likely not for several more years, he said.

“It has to be the right time,” he said.

Ricardo’s Tacos & More
143 Exchange Blvd.,Hutto
512-642-5019
www.ricardostacosandmore.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Sat.-Sun. 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.